5/18/18:
"Doran-Sherry in Nutley, Gottlieb-Knitzer, Chiaro-Daddio in BP, 15 at C.G.!":
There were three sessions of GTA Friday Night Tennis: an early evening one at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley as "Ravishing" Randy Doran and "The Running Man" Ryan Sherry got together at 6:30 for their GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal Match with "Hollywood" Frank Samara presiding over the festivities (and reporting), then there was a session at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield featuring two big matches...the first of them being the GTA Intermediate Invitational Semifinal Match between Jeremy "Got Game" Gottlieb and "The Dark Knight" Dan Knitzer (with both reporting) and the second one was the GTA Championship Tournament Final as "King Crush" Chris Chiaro faced "Daddy O" Paul Daddio to determine the New GTA Champions (with both reporting).
And then there was a concurrent session at The Cedar Grove Courts featuring 15 competitors with results being reported by "The Riz" John Rizzo, Frank "Hydro" Hohorst, "Teej" T.J. Shah, "Ragin" Rajan Shah and "The Icon" Nick Inciong.
Let's first go to Nutley, then to Brookdale Park and then finally to Cedar Grove to gather all the scores for this report.
The Park Ave. Courts Result:
GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal Match:
Ryan Sherry over Randy Doran, 6-4, 6-1, to become both the New # 14 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 1 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! Ryan: 2 Aces (one in each set)!
1st Set: Randy held serve at Game Point, Ryan held (started with an Ace up the T on his way to Triple Game Point, the hold came on Double Game Point), then Doran was the first to be broken as he started with a Double Fault on his way to Triple Break Point, the break came on Double Break Point for 1-2. Sherry held again (Triple Game Point, Double Game Point, Double Fault for Game Point, but then the hold) to extend his lead to 3-1, but then The Ravishing One held (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point and the hold) while The Running Man was finally broken (Triple Break Point, the break came on Double Break Point) to level things at 3-3. Randy was broken once more (this time at Break Point) while Ryan held (Break Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to go up 5-3. Doran had an impressive Love hold to pull to 4-5, but then Sherry held again on Double Game/Set Point to take the initial set at exactly 7:17 (they had started hitting on Court Four at 6:30, shifted over to Court Three at 6:35 just as Samara arrived and then officially got the match underway at precisely 6:46). Three minutes later, the next set was underway.
2nd Set: Randy was broken at Double Break Point, Ryan held at Love, Doran was again broken at Double Break Point and Sherry had another Love hold except this one started off with yet another Ace up the T and this gave The Running Man a quick 4-0 lead! Ravishing Randy was broken yet again (once more at Double Break Point and this time around he started off with a Double Fault) as he now fell to 0-5! There was a brief glimmer of hope for Randy as Ryan was finally broken in this set as a 15-Love lead plummeted right down to Double Break Point and the break to make the score 5-1. But, finally, the door closed on Doran as he was broken one final time (started off with another Double Fault, but quickly reversed course to a Double Game Point lead, then it went to Game Point, Deuce, Break/Match Point and the break) to end this contest at 7:38!
The Skinny: It was a tale of two sets as the initial one was closely contested while the second one was an eighteen minute long blowout! Even though Ryan likes to be called The Running Man, it was Randy who truly earned that moniker in this match as it was primarily his get-making ability that kept it close in the 1st Set. By the time the 2nd Set rolled around, it seemed he was more exhausted mentally rather than physically from countering the big first serves and solid forehands that Sherry had offered up for most of the entire match. That was where the difference came in...and it should also be set that the long and lanky Ryan made many nice gets along the way as well.
The Consequences: Sherry advances to the Semifinals where he will face "NC-17" Nick Caputo.
Samara's Notes: I wanted to make sure to be there mostly to make sure the match got off the ground as there was some confusion the night before about the scheduling and terms of agreement to it. In the end, all went smoothly and both competitors enjoyed the match. The three of us had a bull session that ran until almost 8pm. Randy went home to Weehawken as I went home to Passaic. Meanwhile, Ryan still had a fix for some more tennis and headed up to Cedar Grove before going home. We will get to that session later.
First, we must get two big scores from Brookdale Park.
The Brookdale Park Results:
GTA Intermediate Invitational Semifinal Match:
Jeremy Gottlieb over Dan Knitzer, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), to successfully defend both his # 18 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 4 Rank in the Intermediate Division while advancing to the Finals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! No Aces.
The TDK Replay: While there were no Aces, there were lots of ferocious inside-out forehand battles. The match went like this - "Got Game" thumped Knitzer to the tune of 4-0, holding at Love and then breaking TDK at Love before enough was enough. TDK broke back and then held, but then was broken again. In the 2nd Set, TDK jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind some excellent drop shots and lob one-two combos before Got Game neutralized this play with deeper shots, especially to TDK's weak backhand, to set up forehand missiles! Got Game was on a tear by winning five straight games, but TDK finally held and broke back. The Tiebreak featured two insanely long rallies where both players ran to the net and then back to the baseline. Got Game won at least one of those points (maybe both?) and scooped up TDK's best drop shots.
The "quintessential" Got Game point went like this: hitting deep to TDK's backhand; TDK hitting a weak shot that landed just inside or outside the service box and then Got Game rushing up to smash a fastball.
The "quintessential" Dark Knight point went like this: hitting deep and aggressive to Got Game; Got Game hitting a weak shot that TDK could chip just over the net; Got Game scooping it up and TDK hitting a lob. Interestingly, TDK's best lobs were in the 1st Set, not the 2nd. Both players had some spectacular defensive stances.
The Gist from Jeremy: Dan was a good opponent. It was a good match. I look forward to the Finals.
Samara's Notes: I thank both for their very timely reporting and congratulate Jeremy on a hard-fought victory! I also offer major kudos to Dan for a spirited effort (and, once again, I appreciate the colorful and comprehensive commentary). Gottlieb now advances to the Finals where he will face the winner of Sherry-Caputo.
GTA Championship Final Match:
Chris Chiaro over Paul Daddio, 6-1, 6-7 (7-3), 7-5, to become the New 3-Time GTA Champion! No Aces.
The Dilly-O from Daddy O: Chris is a really good player. I could do nothing in the 1st Set...every approach shot I hit was returned right past me and into the corner! I was down 1-4 in the 2nd Set when I finally became more consistent and made it a match. I was down 5-6 in the 3rd Set when I fought off two Match Points, but could not find a winner. Congratulations to Chris as he fully earned this victory! The match was over two hours long...we played it from 7:20 until 9:30!
Chat from the New Champ: I want to start off by congratulating Paul for a great match. This was one of the toughest matches, if not the toughest, I have ever played in this league. In the 1st Set, everything was going my way. I was able to bring Paul into the net and then create passing shots. When the 2nd Set started, things were still going my way as I was up 5-2, but Paul changed his game and was able to come back and win it in the Tiebreak. In the 3rd Set, we were holding our service games, then I ended up breaking Paul to go 4-2, but then he came right back. I had a chance to serve out the match at 5-4, but Paul broke back and I was able to serve for the match again at 6-5. In the final game, I saved 3 Break Points and he saved 2 Match Points. I was finally able to win it on the 3rd Match Point. The match lasted a little over two hours. And, once again, I give a lot of credit to Paul for coming back in the 2nd Set and fighting hard. He played really well and definitely did not make this win easy.
Samara's Notes: I thank both for their very timely reporting and also appreciate the additional commentary from each player. I congratulate Chris on a very hard-fought victory and also for climbing the mountain to the top of the GTA a third time! I also offer hearty kudos to Paul for such a fine effort. It seems like an almost certain Nominee for Singles Match of The Year at season's end.
And now we shift west from Brookdale Park to Cedar Grove.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Senthil Kumar/John Rizzo over Kris Srinivasan/Kyle Eng, 6-4! No Aces. Kris and Kyle had been up 3-0.
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Senthil Kumar/Ryan Sherry over Kyle Eng/Dino Celis, 6-1, 6-1, to successfully defend their # 87 Rank in the Doubles Division! In the process, Eng/Celis entered the division as the New # 167 Ranked Team. No Aces.
Kris Srinivasan/John Rizzo over Mike Mole/Janice Wang, 6-4! No Aces.
Kris Srinivasan/John Rizzo over Frank Hohorst/Sachiko Tokuda, 6-2! No Aces.
Mike Mole/Janice Wang over Frank Hohorst/Natalia Sout, 7-6 (7-5)! No Aces. Hohorst/Sout were up 5-2 when Mole/Wang came back strong.
Frank Hohorst/Natalia Sout over Mike Mole/Janice Wang, 6-3! Frank: 1 Ace on Mike!
Frankly Speaking: We wanted to play a 3rd Set, but Mike was too tired at that time.
Nick Inciong/Tito Castolo over T.J. Shah/Rajan Shah, 6-2! No Aces.
Nick Inciong/Tito Castolo tied with T.J. Shah/Rajan Shah, 5-5 (Incomplete when the lights went off at 10pm)! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank everyone for their very timely contributions to this report.
Best wishes,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
"Doran-Sherry in Nutley, Gottlieb-Knitzer, Chiaro-Daddio in BP, 15 at C.G.!":
There were three sessions of GTA Friday Night Tennis: an early evening one at The Park Ave. Courts in Nutley as "Ravishing" Randy Doran and "The Running Man" Ryan Sherry got together at 6:30 for their GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal Match with "Hollywood" Frank Samara presiding over the festivities (and reporting), then there was a session at Brookdale Park in Bloomfield featuring two big matches...the first of them being the GTA Intermediate Invitational Semifinal Match between Jeremy "Got Game" Gottlieb and "The Dark Knight" Dan Knitzer (with both reporting) and the second one was the GTA Championship Tournament Final as "King Crush" Chris Chiaro faced "Daddy O" Paul Daddio to determine the New GTA Champions (with both reporting).
And then there was a concurrent session at The Cedar Grove Courts featuring 15 competitors with results being reported by "The Riz" John Rizzo, Frank "Hydro" Hohorst, "Teej" T.J. Shah, "Ragin" Rajan Shah and "The Icon" Nick Inciong.
Let's first go to Nutley, then to Brookdale Park and then finally to Cedar Grove to gather all the scores for this report.
The Park Ave. Courts Result:
GTA Intermediate Invitational Quarterfinal Match:
Ryan Sherry over Randy Doran, 6-4, 6-1, to become both the New # 14 Ranked Player in the Advanced Division and the New # 1 Ranked Player in the Intermediate Division while advancing to the Semifinals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! Ryan: 2 Aces (one in each set)!
1st Set: Randy held serve at Game Point, Ryan held (started with an Ace up the T on his way to Triple Game Point, the hold came on Double Game Point), then Doran was the first to be broken as he started with a Double Fault on his way to Triple Break Point, the break came on Double Break Point for 1-2. Sherry held again (Triple Game Point, Double Game Point, Double Fault for Game Point, but then the hold) to extend his lead to 3-1, but then The Ravishing One held (Love-15 went straight to Double Game Point and the hold) while The Running Man was finally broken (Triple Break Point, the break came on Double Break Point) to level things at 3-3. Randy was broken once more (this time at Break Point) while Ryan held (Break Point, Deuce, Game Point and the hold) to go up 5-3. Doran had an impressive Love hold to pull to 4-5, but then Sherry held again on Double Game/Set Point to take the initial set at exactly 7:17 (they had started hitting on Court Four at 6:30, shifted over to Court Three at 6:35 just as Samara arrived and then officially got the match underway at precisely 6:46). Three minutes later, the next set was underway.
2nd Set: Randy was broken at Double Break Point, Ryan held at Love, Doran was again broken at Double Break Point and Sherry had another Love hold except this one started off with yet another Ace up the T and this gave The Running Man a quick 4-0 lead! Ravishing Randy was broken yet again (once more at Double Break Point and this time around he started off with a Double Fault) as he now fell to 0-5! There was a brief glimmer of hope for Randy as Ryan was finally broken in this set as a 15-Love lead plummeted right down to Double Break Point and the break to make the score 5-1. But, finally, the door closed on Doran as he was broken one final time (started off with another Double Fault, but quickly reversed course to a Double Game Point lead, then it went to Game Point, Deuce, Break/Match Point and the break) to end this contest at 7:38!
The Skinny: It was a tale of two sets as the initial one was closely contested while the second one was an eighteen minute long blowout! Even though Ryan likes to be called The Running Man, it was Randy who truly earned that moniker in this match as it was primarily his get-making ability that kept it close in the 1st Set. By the time the 2nd Set rolled around, it seemed he was more exhausted mentally rather than physically from countering the big first serves and solid forehands that Sherry had offered up for most of the entire match. That was where the difference came in...and it should also be set that the long and lanky Ryan made many nice gets along the way as well.
The Consequences: Sherry advances to the Semifinals where he will face "NC-17" Nick Caputo.
Samara's Notes: I wanted to make sure to be there mostly to make sure the match got off the ground as there was some confusion the night before about the scheduling and terms of agreement to it. In the end, all went smoothly and both competitors enjoyed the match. The three of us had a bull session that ran until almost 8pm. Randy went home to Weehawken as I went home to Passaic. Meanwhile, Ryan still had a fix for some more tennis and headed up to Cedar Grove before going home. We will get to that session later.
First, we must get two big scores from Brookdale Park.
The Brookdale Park Results:
GTA Intermediate Invitational Semifinal Match:
Jeremy Gottlieb over Dan Knitzer, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), to successfully defend both his # 18 Rank in the Advanced Division and his # 4 Rank in the Intermediate Division while advancing to the Finals of the GTA Intermediate Invitational Tournament! No Aces.
The TDK Replay: While there were no Aces, there were lots of ferocious inside-out forehand battles. The match went like this - "Got Game" thumped Knitzer to the tune of 4-0, holding at Love and then breaking TDK at Love before enough was enough. TDK broke back and then held, but then was broken again. In the 2nd Set, TDK jumped out to a 3-0 lead behind some excellent drop shots and lob one-two combos before Got Game neutralized this play with deeper shots, especially to TDK's weak backhand, to set up forehand missiles! Got Game was on a tear by winning five straight games, but TDK finally held and broke back. The Tiebreak featured two insanely long rallies where both players ran to the net and then back to the baseline. Got Game won at least one of those points (maybe both?) and scooped up TDK's best drop shots.
The "quintessential" Got Game point went like this: hitting deep to TDK's backhand; TDK hitting a weak shot that landed just inside or outside the service box and then Got Game rushing up to smash a fastball.
The "quintessential" Dark Knight point went like this: hitting deep and aggressive to Got Game; Got Game hitting a weak shot that TDK could chip just over the net; Got Game scooping it up and TDK hitting a lob. Interestingly, TDK's best lobs were in the 1st Set, not the 2nd. Both players had some spectacular defensive stances.
The Gist from Jeremy: Dan was a good opponent. It was a good match. I look forward to the Finals.
Samara's Notes: I thank both for their very timely reporting and congratulate Jeremy on a hard-fought victory! I also offer major kudos to Dan for a spirited effort (and, once again, I appreciate the colorful and comprehensive commentary). Gottlieb now advances to the Finals where he will face the winner of Sherry-Caputo.
GTA Championship Final Match:
Chris Chiaro over Paul Daddio, 6-1, 6-7 (7-3), 7-5, to become the New 3-Time GTA Champion! No Aces.
The Dilly-O from Daddy O: Chris is a really good player. I could do nothing in the 1st Set...every approach shot I hit was returned right past me and into the corner! I was down 1-4 in the 2nd Set when I finally became more consistent and made it a match. I was down 5-6 in the 3rd Set when I fought off two Match Points, but could not find a winner. Congratulations to Chris as he fully earned this victory! The match was over two hours long...we played it from 7:20 until 9:30!
Chat from the New Champ: I want to start off by congratulating Paul for a great match. This was one of the toughest matches, if not the toughest, I have ever played in this league. In the 1st Set, everything was going my way. I was able to bring Paul into the net and then create passing shots. When the 2nd Set started, things were still going my way as I was up 5-2, but Paul changed his game and was able to come back and win it in the Tiebreak. In the 3rd Set, we were holding our service games, then I ended up breaking Paul to go 4-2, but then he came right back. I had a chance to serve out the match at 5-4, but Paul broke back and I was able to serve for the match again at 6-5. In the final game, I saved 3 Break Points and he saved 2 Match Points. I was finally able to win it on the 3rd Match Point. The match lasted a little over two hours. And, once again, I give a lot of credit to Paul for coming back in the 2nd Set and fighting hard. He played really well and definitely did not make this win easy.
Samara's Notes: I thank both for their very timely reporting and also appreciate the additional commentary from each player. I congratulate Chris on a very hard-fought victory and also for climbing the mountain to the top of the GTA a third time! I also offer hearty kudos to Paul for such a fine effort. It seems like an almost certain Nominee for Singles Match of The Year at season's end.
And now we shift west from Brookdale Park to Cedar Grove.
The Cedar Grove Results:
Senthil Kumar/John Rizzo over Kris Srinivasan/Kyle Eng, 6-4! No Aces. Kris and Kyle had been up 3-0.
2 out of 3 Sets Doubles Match:
Senthil Kumar/Ryan Sherry over Kyle Eng/Dino Celis, 6-1, 6-1, to successfully defend their # 87 Rank in the Doubles Division! In the process, Eng/Celis entered the division as the New # 167 Ranked Team. No Aces.
Kris Srinivasan/John Rizzo over Mike Mole/Janice Wang, 6-4! No Aces.
Kris Srinivasan/John Rizzo over Frank Hohorst/Sachiko Tokuda, 6-2! No Aces.
Mike Mole/Janice Wang over Frank Hohorst/Natalia Sout, 7-6 (7-5)! No Aces. Hohorst/Sout were up 5-2 when Mole/Wang came back strong.
Frank Hohorst/Natalia Sout over Mike Mole/Janice Wang, 6-3! Frank: 1 Ace on Mike!
Frankly Speaking: We wanted to play a 3rd Set, but Mike was too tired at that time.
Nick Inciong/Tito Castolo over T.J. Shah/Rajan Shah, 6-2! No Aces.
Nick Inciong/Tito Castolo tied with T.J. Shah/Rajan Shah, 5-5 (Incomplete when the lights went off at 10pm)! No Aces.
Samara's Notes: I thank everyone for their very timely contributions to this report.
Best wishes,
Frank Samara
gtasamara5@gmail.com
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